Nightclubs WON’T reopen as June 21 roadmap delayed

NIGHTCLUBS will not reopen on June 21 after Boris Johnson pushed back ‘Freedom Day’ by another month.

Venues were expected to reopen next Monday, bouncing back after 15 months of Covid closures.

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But millions of Brits’ have once again had night out plans dashed, after the PM today confirmed that Covid restrictions would not fully lift until July 19.

Ministers hope the extra month will allow enough time for more Brits to get vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus.

Limits on numbers for sports events, pubs and cinemas will also remain in place, however, the 30-person limit on weddings will be lifted.

Mr Johnson said: “It’s unmistakably clear that vaccines are working and the sheer scale of the vaccine roll-out has made our position incomparably better than in previous waves.

“But now is the time to ease off the accelerator because by being cautious now we have the chance in the next four weeks to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions more people.”

Downing Street left open the option of ending restrictions on July 5 if the data proves drastically better than expected but conceded this is “unlikely”.

It was also announced that:

Taking legal action

It comes days after nightclub owners last week vowed to welcome back party-goers regardless of government rules.

Meanwhile, others have said they are prepared to take legal action.

A spokesman said any “further extension of lockdown will see a huge swathe of our industry just go to the wall”.

“It beggars belief that we are in this position 15 months on,” added Michael Kill, CEO of the Nighttime Industries Association (NTIA).

He told City AM the sector was “getting to breaking point” and that the possibility of further delay has left operators feeling “panic and anxiety”.

Mr Kill warned many night time businesses affected by the delays to reopening, from live music venues to bars, are barely breaking even.

In April Brits flocked to the dancefloor in nightclub trials – as part of tests to get the country back up and running out of lockdown.

Ministers fear reopening nightclubs will fuel the spread of Covid-19, in particular, the Delta variant which is threatening reopening plans.

Venues haven’t been able to reopen yet as they pose a major challenge to social distancing measures.

They were forced to close alongside other businesses during the first UK lockdown in March 2020.

It is believed that clubs will be required to adhere to a strict set of rules before resuming operations.

It’s been said that dance floors are “a challenging area to operate” with social distancing remaining intact.

This could mean that clubbers wash their hands with sanitiser before going in.

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Dance floor fans may be subject to temperature checks before entry, and queuing outside venues would be spaced out with markings to maintain distancing.

For clubs with seating and tables, people may have to remain in their seat within a bubble to stick to social distancing.

Face masks are likely to be required when inside – just like they are in other places like supermarkets.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk